In the field of poultry processing, there is a need to remove contaminates left in a body cavity of an eviscerated bird. The rupturing of a part of the digestive tract and spilling the contents therein onto the cavity walls contaminates the eviscerated bird with bacteria contained in the gut and will lead to the rejection of the bird for human consumption. To date only a small number of poultry washers have been commercialized to remedy this problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,579 was such a response for cleansing the body cavity in an efficient and quick manner as part of an automated poultry slaughtering line, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. A poultry washer was mounted on a module for synchronously moving the washer into the body cavity of the eviscerated bird as the bird travels down a treatment line. Within the body cavity, the washer dispenses pressurized liquid through tangentially directed orifices on a rotating cylindrically shaped core. The core runs substantially the entire length of the washer, and is surrounded by a symmetrically and circumferentially shaped cage for spacing the core from the body cavity walls. No consideration is given to the shape of the body cavity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,054 discloses a poultry washer having radially projecting plates parallel with the long axis of the washer and proximal to the spraying element. The plates have serrated edges to tear and disrupt membranes left behind after evisceration. The projecting plates also act as spacers to open the body cavity to discharge the cleaning liquid.
Other washers for flushing the body cavities of eviscerated birds can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,899,421; 4,557,016; 4,421,277; 4,185,359; 4,106,161; 3,803,669; and Re. 34,149.
To date no attempt has been made to create a washer that conforms to the contours of the ventral cavity of the eviscerated bird. The ventral cavity is the hollow portion of the bird torso extending from the neck to the pelvis and containing the heart and the organs of respiration, digestion, reproduction, and elimination. The ventral cavity can be subdivided into three distinct areas: thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic. The thoracic cavity is the area of the chest containing the heart and the lungs along with other organs. The abdominal cavity is the space below the rib cage containing the kidney, stomach, intestines, and other organs of digestion. The pelvic cavity is the space formed by the bones of the pelvic area and contains the organs of reproduction and eliminations.
A washer probe that conforms to the ventral cavity is needed for the following reasons: the increasing speed of poultry slaughtering lines, the increasing stringent standards set by the FDA for contamination free poultry, and the increasing expense in disposing of contaminated cleansing liquids. The speed of the slaughtering line is forever increasing leaving less time for washer to clean the ventral cavity. A washer is needed that enters the cavity quickly, and thoroughly washes the cavity walls, while minimizing damage to the bird. It is important to minimize liquid wastes produced during the washing process for environmental and economical reasons. The present invention meets the need to minimizing damage to the bird, minimize cleansing liquids used, while maximizing cleansing of the ventral cavity of an eviscerated bird all on an automated slaughtering line.